The short answer: how to buy Ethereum in Japan
Open an account at an FSA-registered exchange, deposit yen from a bank account in your own name, and buy ETH. Ethereum is one of only two coins, along with Bitcoin, that every one of the 14 main registered firms lists, so you cannot pick a wrong place on availability. The real choices are order-book fees, staking terms and send fees.
JVCEA data shows ETH at about ¥139.2 billion in August 2026, 18.2% of Japan’s ¥764.4 billion spot volume and second only to Bitcoin (60.6%). Account opening is the same as for Bitcoin, which we cover in how to buy Bitcoin in Japan: residence card or My Number Card, a Japanese bank account, and eKYC on your phone. This page sticks to what is specific to ETH.
What Ethereum is: a computer more than a currency
Bitcoin is mostly used to store and send value. Ethereum runs smart contractsPrograms on a blockchain that execute automatically when their conditions are met, without a middleman., which lets people build apps on it. NFTs, games, decentralised finance and many stablecoins live on Ethereum. ETH is the fuel for using the network and the asset you stake.
It is relevant in Japan beyond speculation: the yen stablecoin JPYC is issued on several networks including Ethereum (see yen stablecoins), and Japan’s Web3 scene is covered in Web3, NFTs and games. Many people hold ETH because they want to use those apps, not only for price gains.
Gas fees: free inside the exchange, not outside
GasThe fee you pay in ETH for the Ethereum network to process a transaction. It rises when the network is busy. is what you pay the network to process a transaction. It goes up when the network is busy and varies with how complicated the action is. A plain transfer is cheaper than an app interaction.
The key point for Japan: buying and selling ETH on a domestic exchange costs no gas at all. The exchange only changes its internal ledger and does not write to the blockchain. Gas enters the picture when you send ETH out, or use apps from your own wallet.
SBI VC Trade and GMO Coin both list crypto deposits and sends as free (GMO Coin adds that any fee charged at the sending end is yours). Other exchanges set their own send fees per coin, so read the official fee page before you move ETH. If you plan to use apps, keep extra ETH in your wallet to cover gas, on top of the amount you send.
Where to buy ETH and how order books compare
Most exchanges give ETH both a dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo) and an order book (取引所, torihikijo), so the fee gap can be real. You can buy ETH directly with yen on the book; there is no need to go through Bitcoin.
| Exchange | How you can buy | Order-book fee (maker / taker) | Minimum and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEX.IO | Card purchase (from about $20) | — | International platform, not FSA-registered, no yen, Japan unsupported. Suits visitors and non-residents with foreign cards |
| SBI VC Trade | Dealer desk + order book | −0.01% / 0.05% | Order book from 0.00001 ETH; dealer desk from ¥1 |
| GMO Coin | Dealer desk + order book | −0.01% / 0.05% | Order book from 0.001 ETH; dealer desk from ¥100 |
| bitbank | Dealer desk + order book | −0.02% / 0.12% | Minimum 0.0001 ETH |
| Coincheck | Dealer desk (ETH also in its exchange fee table) | 0% / 0% | Dealer spread published at 0.1–5.0%; from ¥500 |
| bitFlyer | Dealer desk + order book (Lightning) | 0.01–0.15% | ETH/JPY and ETH/BTC books (archived data) |
| Binance Japan | Dealer desk + order book | 0.10% / 0.10% (VIP0) | ETH/JPY book |
| OKJ and BitTrade | Exchange + dealer desk | OKJ 0.07% / 0.14%; BitTrade 0% / 0.10% | Check minimums on each site |
| Zaif | Dealer desk + exchange | Maker 0%, taker 0.1% (ETH/JPY) | Dealer spread published at 0.1–8.0% |
| Mercoin | Inside the Mercari app (from ¥1) | — | Recurring ETH purchases since Oct 2024; also via point investing |
For the lowest order-book cost look at bitbank, GMO Coin and SBI VC Trade (negative maker fees) and Coincheck (0% both ways). One catch: the big “Buy” button in most apps is the dealer desk, where you pay the spread instead. Check which screen you are on before you confirm. Deposit and withdrawal costs are in our fee comparison.
Staking ETH in Japan: who pays what
StakingLocking coins to help run a blockchain and earning rewards in return. Price risk on the coins remains. means putting ETH to work helping secure the network in exchange for rewards. In Japan the exchange typically stakes pooled customer ETH and passes on part of the reward. Two exchanges can stake the same ETH and leave you with different amounts, because each keeps a different share.
| Exchange | Your share / rate | Minimum | Lock-up / unstaking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coincheck | 70% of rewards | See official page | See official page |
| bitbank | Exchange keeps 30% (you get 70%) | See official page | See official page |
| SBI VC Trade | 75% of results; ETH about 2.5% a year (latest actual) | No minimum or maximum | No lock-up; sell or withdraw any time |
| GMO Coin | Exchange keeps up to 28% (changes monthly) | None stated | No lock-up; rewards paid on the 10th–17th of the next month |
| OKJ | Flexible about 1.80% a year; fixed 2.25% (60 days) | 0.01 ETH | 10 days to unlock; early exit from a fixed plan forfeits all rewards |
| bitFlyer | ETH staking offered (ETH only) | See official page | No lock-up; rewards monthly |
| Zaif | ETH and XYM supported | See official page | See official page |
These numbers are not directly comparable. SBI VC Trade quotes “75% of results”; GMO Coin quotes “up to 28% kept”. What matters is what you take home after the exchange’s cut, whether you can sell at any time, and how long unstaking takes. OKJ’s fixed plan pays more but costs you every reward if you leave early, and unlocking takes 10 days.
Rewards do not remove price risk
A few percent a year in rewards will not offset an ETH price move of 10% or more in a month, which is not unusual. Staked coins also sit with the exchange, so its failure would affect them.
Rewards are income at their market value on the day you receive them (NTA FAQ 1-7). If rewards arrive daily, you need the market value for each credit, so check that your exchange lets you download a reward history.
Sending ETH: networks and the Travel Rule
Before sending ETH anywhere, confirm which network. Besides Ethereum itself there are layer-2 networksSeparate networks built on top of Ethereum to be faster and cheaper. Not every exchange supports them, and sending to the wrong network can lose funds.. If the sending exchange supports one network and the destination expects another, funds can fail to arrive or become unrecoverable.
Japanese exchanges apply the Travel Rule: you declare whether the destination is your own wallet or another provider, and some ask you to prove ownership of a wallet. Practices vary, and exchanges use different messaging systems, so a few exchange-to-exchange routes do not work and people route through their own wallet. Our wallet guide covers the details.
- Confirm the destination expects Ethereum mainnet or the layer-2 you are using.
- Send a small test first.
- Keep extra ETH aside for gas if you will use apps.
- Copy-paste the address and check the first and last characters.
Ethereum tax in Japan
Buying ETH with yen and holding it is not taxable. Selling, swapping it into another coin or stablecoin, and spending it are. Using ETH to buy an NFT counts as selling the ETH at that moment, an easy one to miss. Profit is generally miscellaneous income added to your salary and taxed at 5–45% plus 10% resident tax, up to about 55% in total.
Cost basis uses the total-average or moving-average method; staking rewards you receive start with a cost basis equal to their market value that day. A salaried worker with one employer and under ¥200,000 in other income need not file a national income tax return, but a resident-tax declaration is still required.
The 20.315% separate tax applies only to specified crypto-assets and starts in 2028 at the earliest. Which coins qualify is not settled, so do not count on it for ETH yet. See crypto tax in Japan and the 20% reform. This is general information, not advice.
Risks to watch
Beyond price swings, the main ETH risks are sending mistakes and scams. Wrong-network and wrong-address errors are almost never reversible. Scams include fake “high-yield ETH staking” offers, cloned wallet apps and phishing “airdrops”. Never type your recovery phrase into a website or chat. See crypto scams in Japan. For other coins see the coin guide, XRP and Solana.
Buying Ethereum in Japan: FAQ
How much ETH can I buy, and what is the minimum?
You can buy a fraction of a coin. At dealer desks the minimum is ¥1 at Mercoin and SBI VC Trade, ¥100 at GMO Coin and Rakuten Wallet and about ¥500 at Coincheck. On order books it is 0.00001 ETH at SBI VC Trade, 0.0001 ETH at bitbank and 0.001 ETH at GMO Coin.
What are gas fees and do I pay them on a Japanese exchange?
Gas is the fee paid to the Ethereum network for processing a transaction. Trading ETH inside an exchange does not touch the blockchain, so there is no gas. Fees arise when you send ETH out. SBI VC Trade and GMO Coin list crypto sends as free; check other exchanges’ fee pages.
Can I stake ETH in Japan?
Yes. Coincheck pays 70% of rewards, bitbank keeps 30%, SBI VC Trade pays 75% of results, and GMO Coin, OKJ, bitFlyer and Zaif also offer ETH staking. Minimums, lock-up and unstaking time differ, so compare the table on this page.
Are staking rewards taxable?
Yes. The National Tax Agency FAQ treats rewards as income at their market value when you receive them. When you later sell, that value becomes your cost basis. The income is miscellaneous income added to your other income.
Is swapping ETH for another coin taxable?
Yes. A crypto-to-crypto swap is treated as a sale at market value, so a gain is taxable even if you never convert back to yen. Using ETH to buy an NFT works the same way.
Should I keep ETH on the exchange or in my own wallet?
For short-term trades or recurring purchases an exchange is fine. For long-term, larger holdings a self-custody wallet is an option, but Japanese exchanges apply Travel Rule declarations when you withdraw, and some restrict external sends. Staking on an exchange is easier if you leave the coins there.
Sources
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